by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

MIAMI - At 8 a.m. the day before the 2013-14 NBA season began, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra sat in his office working. He heard loud music coming from the weight room at American Airlines Arena.

"It was as loud as a concert," Spoelstra said.

Curious, the coach walked down to see who was there that early. When he looked inside, he saw one man - reigning NBA and NBA Finals MVP LeBron James - working out.

A short time later, before practice started at 10 a.m., Spoelstra heard the ball bouncing on the practice court. Yep, it was James again, and he was joined by teammate Ray Allen working on shooting.

When Spoelstra officially ended practice around noon, there was James, with Allen, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Michael Beasley, still working out. Until 12:45.

"It's not extra," James said. "It's what it's supposed to be."

This is a snapshot of James' pursuit for a third consecutive NBA championship.

A snapshot of James' quest for greatness.

The pursuit begins tonight in Miami, the epicenter of the NBA. The Heat will receive their 2012-13 championship rings just before playing the Bulls. The game also features the return of 2010-11 MVP Derrick Rose, who missed last season recovering from a torn ACL and is the only guy not named LeBron James to win MVP in the past five seasons.

James is a four-time winner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as NBA MVP. He has two championship rings along with two Finals MVPs. If James wins another regular-season MVP, he will join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Bill Russell (five) and Michael Jordan (five) as the only players in NBA history with five.

James can also accomplish a feat never done before in the league: win three consecutive MVPs, three consecutive championships and three consecutive Finals MVPs. Jordan didn't do it. Shaquille O'Neal didn't. Bill Russell might have in 1961-1963, when Russell won three MVPs and the Celtics three titles in a row, but there was no Finals MVP then.

James can also become the only player to win the MVP five times in six seasons.

What drives a guy who has so much to chase more? At the Heat's media day in late September he said he wants to be the greatest of all time.

In an interview with USA TODAY Sports, James expounded on that. All-time rankings are problematic because comparing players from different generations is difficult, simply because the game changes so much from one era to the next.

"It's not for anyone to put rankings out," James said. "At the end of the day, it doesn't matter where people rank me all time. But for me, I have a personal goal to be the greatest."

What does that mean?

"That I maximize my potential, that I got everything out of my career and I got everything out of my game that I could and that I pushed the envelope," James explained. "When people said I couldn't get better, I continue to strive to get better. If I do that, I can be very high."

How high he finishes - in James' mind and the public's - remains years away. He is 28, still in the prime of his career, and should have several great years left. James realizes all-time greatness is often measured in championships.

"What he has done the last two years is remarkable," said TNT analyst Steve Kerr, who played with Michael Jordan for the Chicago Bulls. "He handles himself with grace and class. He's elevated his name. He is now a champion, he carries himself like one. It's fantastic to see the resilience, particularly in modern society with what he faces. I love what LeBron has done and I have a ton of respect for him. He's on his way. He's already top 10 (all-time). Beyond that, we'll see where he goes."

THE MOTIVATION: Never letting go of that winning feeling

James' desire for success has turned into an obsession, stemming from his need to win more championships and his fear of failure.

The fleeting euphoria after winning his first title was intoxicating. But it only lasts so long.

"What really got me to this point was how short of a time it lasted," James said. "The championship lasts (snapping) just like that. The confetti rains, you go in the locker room, pop the champagne, you do the media, you have the parade and then it's over. It's over.

"You're looking around and everybody's back to normal. I was like, 'Wow, that was an unbelievable 48 hours. I want it again.' It was the best 48 hours of my life and I needed that again."

When it happened again in June after the Heat defeated the Spurs in seven games, he was able to enjoy it a little longer. But even that wasn't enough. He wants more.

"I'm at a point now where nothing else matters in basketball besides winning," he said. "That's what I'm here for. That's where my passion lies. It's where my work ethic lies. It's my hunger to put up another banner in this arena.

"I have a drive that's burning inside of me, and I want to continue to be successful."

SPREE FOR THREE: Heat remain the strong favorite

Miami is a strong favorite to return to the NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive season, an accomplishment that hasn't been achieved since the 1984-87 Boston Celtics. The Heat are trying to become the first team since the 2000-2002 Los Angeles Lakers to win three titles in a row.

It's a team strong enough to pull it off. They have James, after all, who has been on an incredible run - don't forget the 2012 Olympic gold medal - since losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2010 Finals.

James said the fear of failure and drive for success go hand-in-hand "like peanut butter and jelly."

It started with failure, first in Cleveland and then in his first season with Miami. He was bothered by "letting my teammates down and setting a goal and not being able to accomplish it. Because I want to be successful so much, I drive myself almost to insanity because I want to be successful."

Hence, the 8 a.m. effort in the weight room, which Spoelstra said is "not a one-time thing."

Spoelstra said James grasps the whole puzzle.

"You have his commitment to get better," Spoelstra said. "He's been coached well from youth level to high school to AAU and his first pro coaches were very good. He's been exposed to the right type of coaching.

"You have his IQ which matches anyone's in this game. He understands deeper levels of game-planning and sees the game like a great quarterback would. He understands the importance of how it all works together - coaching, scouting, role players, team camaraderie. He understands how all the pieces fit."

PERSONAL MISSION: You haven't seen the best from LeBron

James promised he will be a better player this season, which seems preposterous. Last season, James averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.7 steals and shot career-highs from the field (56.5%) and on three-pointers (40.6%).

His playoff numbers were similar (down just a tad), and in the Finals against the Spurs, he had two triple-doubles and in Game 7, he had 37 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals and shot 12-for-23 from the field, including 5-for-10 on threes.

James has improved season after season, especially with Miami, which asked him to sometimes play a style that he was not accustomed to in Cleveland -- more in the post and off the ball offensively. Spoelstra loves to push players out of their comfort zone.

"It's made me a better player," James said. "I'm a more complete basketball player. I did some things I probably wouldn't have done if I didn't step outside the comfort that I was in. I didn't resist it. I took it because I knew coming into this situation it would have to be done in order for us to win. I looked at the situation and said, 'What do I need to do for us to better?' "

How can the guy who is wildly considered to be the best player on the planet get better? That is something that is perplexing, even to other guys who play the game. Take Allen, for instance, who has been around for a long time.

"I don't know how he can get any better," Allen said. "We can't ask him to be greater than he was last year. We'll take him as he was last year. We have to allow him to make us better. That's going to be the true test of where he goes from where he is now.

"He judges himself on a pretty strict curve but how can you ask any more from the guy."

James demands from himself, realizing what's at stake. Anointed a prodigy as a teen, James is one of the few who have lived up to expectations. Now, he's in the process of exceeding them.

"It's the opportunity to do something special while I'm here. I want to take full advantage of it," James said. "This is what I always imagined. This is what I want to do for possibly a long time. Just because I'm successful with winning, it doesn't mean it's going to happen all the time.

"I know the hard work has paid off, and it's something I want to continue to work toward."

MURKINESS AWAITS: LeBron's future remains clouded

Of course, there's this pesky thing called free agency. James can terminate his contract with Heat after this season and become a free agent. On this topic, he has chosen to discuss as little as possible. It's a different approach than the one he took in 2009-10 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He often answered questions then, and his words were parsed for potential meaning and insight into his decision.

"This season is about trying to win another championship," he said. "Once the offseason hits, me and my team will tackle that. But for right now, it's all about what's going on now. I owe it to this franchise to my teammates and to the coaching staff and my family and friends, especially my wife and kids."

Yep, life is good for James. When asked how he is doing, he often replies, "No complaints."

C'mon. Everyone has a complaint.

"When I come home sometimes and my kids have destroyed the house after it just got cleaned up. I complain about that," James said. "I complain about traveling a lot. I don't like traveling all the time.